Catholic Bishops on New Contraception Deal: Still No

With Catholic bishops opposed to an ObamaCare mandate on contraception, the White House recently moved to change the rule—but the new package hasn't satisfied the religious leaders, the New York Times reports. The deal would allow women employed by a religiously-affiliated employer, such as a Catholic hospital, to get free contraception under a separate insurance policy paid for by their insurance provider. Among bishops' concerns: The compromise doesn't apply to a wide enough arena of religious employers, they said yesterday after six days spent studying the proposal.

The bishops noted that it still doesn't accommodate secular businesses whose owners hold religious objections to contraception; the rule also seems to "require all employees ... to have the illicit coverage—they may not opt out," Cardinal Timothy Dolan said, per NPR. Still, the bishops' response was more "moderate and measured" this time around, the Times notes. (More Obama administration stories.)